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Insertion Sort for Nearly Sorted Array

Insertion Sort for Nearly Sorted Array

23 Sep 2025
Beginner
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4 min read
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Insertion Sort for Nearly Sorted Array

The Insertion Sort Algorithm is a simple comparison-based sorting algorithm that builds the sorted array one element at a time by inserting each element into its correct position in the sorted portion of the array. It is particularly efficient for nearly sorted arrays, where elements are close to their final positions, requiring fewer comparisons and shifts. This makes it ideal for scenarios where the input is already partially sorted.

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Example:

  • Input: nums = [2, 1, 3, 5, 4, 6] (nearly sorted)
  • Output: [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
  • Explanation: The array is sorted in ascending order.

Logic

Enter an array of numbers (comma-separated) to sort it using the Insertion Sort algorithm.

Program (Python - Insertion Sort Implementation)

The following Python code implements the Insertion Sort algorithm with O(n²) time complexity in the worst case, but it performs close to O(n) for nearly sorted arrays, where n is the length of the array.


def insertionSort(nums):
    for i in range(1, len(nums)):
        key = nums[i]
        j = i - 1
        # Shift elements that are greater than key to the right
        while j >= 0 and nums[j] > key:
            nums[j + 1] = nums[j]
            j -= 1
        # Place key in its correct position
        nums[j + 1] = key
    return nums

# Example usage
nums = [2, 1, 3, 5, 4, 6]
print(insertionSort(nums))  # Output: [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]

Output

For the input nums = [2, 1, 3, 5, 4, 6], the output is:


[1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]

Explanation:

The nearly sorted array is sorted in ascending order using the insertion sort algorithm.

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About Author
Amit Kumar (Software Engineer And Author)

Experienced Software Engineer with a demonstrated history of working in the professional training & coaching industry. Skilled in Asp.net MVC, Angular, Language Integrated Query (LINQ), SQL, C++, and HTML. Strong engineering professional graduated from Sathyabama University.
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